You have until 11 September to have your say on the proposed changes to Auckland Council’s ward boundaries and local board subdivisions.
The proposed changes, required by a statutory representation review, will affect how some people would vote at next year’s local body elections.
The review affects only council wards and not local board boundaries except for their internal subdivision boundaries, where they exist.
Wards are areas for electing councillors on the governing body. Changes to ward boundaries can mean that ward and local board boundaries get out of alignment.
The six yearly review is designed to ensure that communities continue to be effectively and fairly represented on the council.
Legislation says the ratio of population per councillor for each ward must not vary from the average across the whole of Auckland by more than 10 per cent unless complying with this rule would split communities of interest.
Areas of Auckland most affected by the proposed changes are the Waitematā and Gulf Ward and its surrounding wards, the Manukau Ward, and Rodney subdivisions.
Because of high population growth, the Waitematā and Gulf Ward population differ from the average per councillor by plus 43 per cent – well above the 10 per cent rule. This means that under the legislation a change is necessary.
In order for it to comply with the 10 per cent rule, it is proposed to:
- move the communities of Parnell and Newmarket from Waitematā and Gulf Ward to the Ōrākei Ward
- move part of Ellerslie and the community between College Road and the Glen Innes Railway Station from Ōrākei to the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Ward
- move the communities of Westmere, west of Surrey Crescent and Eden Terrace from Waitematā and Gulf Ward to the Albert-Eden-Roskill
- move small areas of Onehunga and Royal Oak to become part of the Albert-Eden-Roskill Ward
- extend the Whau Ward's eastern boundary to encompass a small area of Mount Roskill that was previously in the Albert-Eden-Roskill Ward.
If you do not agree with these changes, you can suggest alternatives before 11 September.
The proposal for Manukau Ward, which has two councillors, is to split the ward into two parts along the existing boundary of the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu and Ōtara-Papatoetoe local boards.
This would create two new single-member wards — the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Ward and the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Ward.
The boundaries of the new wards would be exactly the same as the existing local board areas of the same name.
In Rodney, we propose to slightly change the subdivision boundaries of the Rodney Local Board. Currently, there are four Rodney Local Board subdivisions: Dairy Flat, Kumeu, Warkworth and Wellsford.
In order to better recognise similar communities of interest, we propose to:
- extend the Wellsford Subdivision boundary south to meet the Kumeu Subdivision boundary at Makarau
- move the boundary between Warkworth and Wellsford north to include a small area north of Matakana Road in the Warkworth Subdivision.
These two changes will improve representation of the area by grouping more similar communities of interest together.
We propose no changes to the Rodney Ward boundary.
For more information and to make a submission on all these proposals, visit aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/haveyoursay